You are browsing the archive for CSW.

CSW 56 Update: African NGOs strategize to influence the outcomes of the Session

March 2, 2012 in Africa Women's Decade, Beijing +15 review, BPfA, CSW, Featured, Icon, iCON, UNWE, Women empowerment

By Norah Matovu Winyi

On Monday the 27th of February the members of the Uganda delegation to the Fifty- Six Session on the United Nations Commission on the Status

UN Headquarters in New York. The African Shadow report was launched at one of the Pararell events during the 54th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York

of Women (UNCSW 56th Session) met together with representatives of civil society organisations and women’s rights activists at Uganda House (Uganda UN Mission Building in New York) to plan and strategize on how best to participate and influence the outcomes of the CSW 56th Session. These meetings have been held every morning since then. They are attended by Government delegation which is composed 20 members (including several civil society representatives). In addition over 20 civil society representatives including some of those representing international and regional/sub-regional organizations based in Uganda were invited to the morning planning and debriefing meetings and this has provided a unique space for the non-state actors to interact with the delegation.

In the first meeting the delegates harmonized expectations and agreed on the ways of working in order to make the long journey to New York a worthwhile investment. The morning meetings have been interactive and very instructive on how to make strategic interventions within the CSW Session both in the official sessions as well as selected side events hosted by various member states, UN agencies, international organizations and regional and national civil society organizations. As a civil society representative on the official delegation holding the morning meetings has been a very good practice which has provided unique opportunities to dialogue and exchange ideas with our government colleagues on various issues and concerns and harmonize views on what we should focus on in the statements delivered by the Minister of State during the official sessions and the areas where follow up actions will take place after the team returns home after the CSW session. On a lighter note we have been able to support each other with tips on managing the tough weather conditions (the cold), and celebrate the many achievements of the yesteryears. Read the rest of this entry →

Tags: , , , , , ,
No Comments »

CSW 56 Updates: Side events organised by Isis-WICCE partners

February 28, 2012 in Africa Women's Decade, Beijing +15 review, CSW, Empowerment, Featured, Icon, iCON, Policy advocacy, WLN, Women empowerment

UN Headquarters in New York. The African Shadow report was launched at one of the Pararell events during the 54th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

2/24/2012

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK – The Global Network for Global Peacebuilders (GNWP), a program partner of the International Civil society Action Network announces upcoming events – organized in conjunction with the Commission of the Status of Women (CSW) – that highlight some of the important issues we strive to make a difference on! GNWP bridges the gap between policy discussions and implementation and action on the ground on women and peace and security issues.

February 28, 2:30-4pm at the UN Church Center, 2nd floor (1st Avenue and 44th street) Investing in Peace, Investing in Women, a panel discussion that will examine the impact of current financing for UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and women and peace and security programming at the national level. Co-sponsored by GNWP, Cordaid, the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations and the United Nations Development Program

March 1, 4:30-6pm at the UN Church Center Chapel (1st Avenue and 44th street) Violence against Women, Economic Empowerment and Rural Women in Conflict-Affected Situations, an event which will analyze Read the rest of this entry →

Tags: , , , , , ,
No Comments »

CSW 56 Updates: Facts and Figures on Rural Women Poverty and Hunger

February 28, 2012 in Africa Women's Decade, Beijing +15 review, BPfA, Children's Leadership Program, CSW, Empowerment, Featured, Icon, iCON, Women empowerment

Poverty and Hunger

  • Gender inequality is a major cause and effect of hunger and poverty: it is estimated that 60 percent of chronically hungry people are women and girls. (Source: WFP Gender Policy and Strategy.)
  • On average, women make up about 43 percent of the agricultural labour force in developing countries. Evidence indicates that if these women had the same access to productive resources as men, they could increase yields on their farms by 20 to 30 percent, raising total agricultural output in these countries by 2.5 to 4 percent. This would reduce the number of hungry people in the world by around 12 to 17 percent.
  • Almost 70 percent of employed women in South Asia work in agriculture, as do more than 60 percent of employed women in sub-Saharan Africa. This highlights the importance of developing policies and programmes that address their needs, interests and constraints.
  • Less than 20 percent of the world’s landholders are women. Women represent fewer than 5 percent of all agricultural landholders in North Africa and West Asia, while in sub-Saharan Africa they make up an average of 15 percent.
  • Women in sub-Saharan Africa collectively spend about 40 billion hours a year collecting water. Per week, women in Guinea collect water for 5.7 hours, compared to 2.3 hours for men; in Sierra Leone women spend 7.3 compared to 4.5 hours for men; and in Malawi this figure is 9.1 compared to 1.1 hours. This significantly impacts women’s employment opportunities.
  • Research indicates that when more income is put into the hands of women, child nutrition, health and education improves. In South and Central America, rural children are about 1.8 times more likely to be underweight than their urban counterparts. Other regions do not fare much better.

Education

  • Women make up more than two-thirds of the world’s 796 million illiterate people.
  • According to global statistics, just 39 percent of rural girls attend secondary school. This is far fewer than rural boys (45 percent), urban girls (59 percent) and urban Read the rest of this entry →

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
No Comments »

Commission on the Status of Women 2012

February 28, 2012 in Africa Women's Decade, Beijing +15 review, CSW, Featured, Icon, iCON

The 56th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW56) brings together in New York government officials, rural women, representatives of the United Nations and civil society, the media and the private sector. They will meet at United Nations headquarters to review progress, share experiences and good practices, analyse gaps and challenges and agree on priority actions to accelerate the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and the achievement of gender equality.

The Commission will focus on the empowerment of rural women and their role in poverty and hunger eradication, development and current challenges.

Why Is This Theme Important?

Rural women constitute one-fourth of the world’s population. They are leaders, decision-makers, producers, workers, entrepreneurs and service providers. Their contributions are vital to the well-being of families and communities, and of local and national Read the rest of this entry →

Tags: , , , , ,
No Comments »

iCON Events in February 2012

February 2, 2012 in Africa Women's Decade, Blog, building leadership, CSW, Empowerment, Icon, iCON, Women empowerment

iCON reminds you to confirm your attendance to the Uganda CSW working group meeting with the Director, Ministry of Gender, to be held on Friday February 3rd 2012.

 

iCON will be taking the debate on the 56th theme of the CSW live on air. So tune in to the talk show “Manya Eddembe Lyo” on CBS FM on Sunday, February 5th 2012 from 9pm-10pm to be part of this advocacy platform.

 

iCON shall be convening the CSW Working group for a planning meeting for working group representatives to the 56th CSW meeting.

 

iCON shall be bringing daily updates from the 56th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) meeting from 27th February to 7th March 2012 to the mailing lists.

 

Join the Metro NY Chapter of the US National Committee for UN Women at their Annual Luncheon at the United Nations March 2, 2012, noon to 2:30 PM Delegates’ Dining Room at United Nations Headquarters United Nations Plaza, New York City on the theme: “Peace and Equality”

Keynote Speaker: Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury

Honorary Speaker: Jeni Klugman, World Bank

Early Bird Ticket Prices $130 (Members), $150 (General Admission), $300 (VIP). ) Early bird discount expires 1/31/12).

RSVP http://unluncheon.eventbrite.com.
Please note you can pay by credit card or check

Sessions

“Women’s Role in Advancing the Culture of Peace” by Anwarul K. Chowdhury: Ambassador at Large for Women, Peace and Development.

In a long and distinguished diplomatic career, Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury of Bangladesh has been a tireless advocate for the culture of peace, women, children, and the most vulnerable countries of the world. His initiative in March 2000 as the President of the Security Council achieved the political and conceptual breakthrough that led to the adoption of the ground breaking *UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on women and peace and security. From 2002 to 2007, he served as Under-Secretary-General and High representative of the UN.

 

“Getting Equal” by Jeni Klugman Director, Gender and Development for the World Bank.

Worldwide, women make up the majority of unpaid workers. Only 15% of landowners and one in five lawmakers n the world are women. One out of every 10 births are by mothers ages 15-19, almost all of them in developing countries. Violence against women is still widespread. Jeni Klugman will discuss the World Bank’s “Think Equal” initiative to increase
women’s economic opportunity and their voice in decision making. It’s time to think EQUAL.

RSVP http://unluncheon.eventbrite.com. Please note you can pay by credit card or check .

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
No Comments »

CSW (56) Updates: Civil Society Statement on the role of rural women in poverty eradication, development and challenges

January 19, 2012 in Africa Women's Decade, BPfA, CSW, Empowerment, Featured, WLN

Some of the iCON Fellows from Northern Uganda

CSW Updates: iCON invites you to a meeting with government on Friday 03-02-2012 at 9:30am at the offices of the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development offices to present the Civil Society Statement on the role of rural women in poverty eradication, development and challenges

Some of the iCON Fellows from Northern Uganda

Tags: , ,
No Comments »

Northern Uganda CSOs Review Rural Women’s Role in Poverty eradication

January 19, 2012 in Africa Women's Decade, BPfA, CSW, Featured, Icon, iCON, Policy advocacy, UNWE, WLN, Women empowerment

Gulu, 17th January 2012: iCON successfully mobilized members of Civil Society, informal and formal women’s groups, individuals and the

Some of the iCON Fellows from Northern Uganda

Private Sector in northern Uganda to discuss the findings of the theme of the 56 session of the commission on the status of women (CSW) “The Role of Rural Women in Poverty and Hunger Eradication Development and Current Challenges”. The forum enabled over ten organizations to assess the status of rural women in terms of their role in poverty eradication in the areas of education, health and social- economic well-being.

It also created an interactive platform for stakeholders and partners to discuss the current findings of the ongoing research, critique and give recommendations for improvement. The overall report will be submitted to the government in preparation for the 56th session of the CSW in New York in February 2012.

Among the many issues addressed by the participants was the challenge of a high level of dependency on handouts in northern Uganda, which was caused by the 20 year long civil war. The war that was led by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) forced families and individuals to depend on handouts from charity organizations while living in Internally Displaced People (IDP) camps. According to the participants, this negative attitude had made it difficult for the Ugandan government and civil society organizations to effectively empower rural women.

The Uganda CSW working group was conceived on 30th April 2009 in Kampala, Uganda to help in linking grassroots women in Uganda to the CSW as a major policy advocacy space for women. The working group currently has over 100 members across the country, including CSO’s, Private Sector, informal institutions and education institutions among others.

The Uganda CSW working group mainly exists to build the leadership capacities of women to influence social transformation in participatory policy formulation, implementation, monitoring and review processes nationally, regionally and globally.

Written by Nancy Nandudu

Communication and Advocacy Program (CAP)

Program Assistant

Tags: , , , , , ,
No Comments »

Resolutions from the CSW 54 on HIV/AIDS, Maternal Mortality and FGM

April 9, 2010 in Beijing +15 review, BPfA, building leadership, CSW, Women empowerment

Please find attached the resolutions from the 54th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)on HIV/AIDS, Maternal Mortality and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).  Icon Women and Young People’s Leadership Academy and the Uganda Beijing +15 Review Working Group in partnership with the East African Sub-regional Support Initiative EASSI and other partners is planning a post CSW debriefing meeting for women and young people from Uganda on 30th April, 2010.

Please see download the resolutions below

CSW 2010 – Resolution on Female Genital Mutilation

CSW Resolution – Maternal mortality and empowerment

CSW Resolution 2010 – Women and HIV AIDS
Icon is committed to building the policy advocacy and leadership potential of women and young people to fight social injustices including gender inequality, gender inequity and violence.

Tags: , , , , , , ,
No Comments »

15 years after landmark gathering, women still lack equal rights

April 6, 2010 in Beijing +15 review, BPfA, building leadership, CSW, Icon, iCON, Policy advocacy

High-level meeting at the UN assesses advances and challenges in women’s rights

New York – Thousands of government officials, activists and women leaders from all over the world are gathered in NY today to assess the progress and challenges in women’s empowerment at the 54th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. The meeting takes place at the United Nations Headquarters from March 1-12 — 15 years after the milestone gathering in Beijing when governments pledged to advance equality for women everywhere.

“Progress towards gender equality has been uneven and slow, making it more difficult to meet the Millennium Development Goals,” said UNDP Administrator Helen Clark. “To meet the MDGs by 2015, we must all work harder on the empowerment of women, gender equity in education, and on improving maternal health. These are not only critical in their own right, but will underpin progress on other MDGs too.” Read the rest of this entry →

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
No Comments »

A Feat Born Out of Diligence – MUK Honours Female Professors

April 6, 2010 in Beijing +15 review, BPfA, building leadership, CSW, Icon, Policy advocacy, Women empowerment

Professor Ruth Mukama receives a gender equality award from Hon Jane Alisemera the chairperson of the Uganda Women Parliamentary Association as Catherine Kanabahita the head of the gender ministry main streaming division looks on Saturday

Professor Ruth Mukama receives a gender equality award from Hon Jane Alisemera the chairperson of the Uganda Women Parliamentary Association as Catherine Kanabahita the head of the gender ministry main streaming division looks on Saturday

Kampala — CLAD in a black and white striped gomesi, Prof. Victoria Mwaka walked forward to receive her award. She was one of the 10 women who were recognised for their academic excellence, which enabled them to climb the ladder to rank of professorship, an achievement that had, until recently, been held by only men.
The function was held at the Sheraton Kampala Hotel over the weekend. The retired head of department for gender and women studies worked for 13 years as the head of the geography at Makerere University.
Prof. Venansius Baryamureeba, the university vice-chancellor, said the number of female professors at Makerere rose from one in 2008 to six today. “This is due to their hard work and gender equality programmes like affirmative action (the 1.5 points given to girls admitted at the university).” He also attributed the achievement to a gender-sensitive constitution that aims at reducing gender disparities.”
Read the rest of this entry →

Tags: , , , , , , ,
2 Comments »